Shadow Slave

In the end, Kai agreed to his deal. In exchange for the Blood Arrow, he gave Sunny three Memories: the two weaker arrows he had and a small charm capable of producing fire.

Sunny fed all three to the Stone Saint, bringing her amount of shadow fragments to thirty-one. That was four more than she had in the past, which meant that he received the same amount of fragments that he would have gotten by feeding her the Blood Arrow itself.

He didn’t really gain anything, but also didn’t lose anything. Kai was the one who really profited from their exchange.

So Sunny didn’t lie when he said that it was an incredible deal.

After breakfast, which transpired in somewhat awkward silence, Sunny sprawled on the ground and smiled happily.

“You know, guys. These past few weeks made me realize something. Actually, it was all thanks to Kai, who introduced me… introduced me… uh… to Stev.”

Effie stretched, making Sunny stutter and lose the train of thought for a second, then smiled with satisfaction and glanced at him.

“Really? And what is that?”

Sunny hesitated for a few moments and said:

“When I was a little kid, I loved reading webtoons about the Awakened. You know, the ones where they always explore ancient ruins, battle Nightmare Creatures, and grow more powerful with each victory.”

He chuckled.

“The hero and his cohort decide on an adventure, vanquish evil, gain mighty Memories, then return to the real world and sell their spoils at the adventurer shop. They spend their money to upgrade their equipment, and immediately set out on a more epic and dangerous adventure.”

Cassie smiled.

“I loved to read those too.”

Sunny glanced at her and sighed.

“Yeah. But when I got older, I couldn’t help but think — what are they thinking about? Exploring ancient ruins is not a wise thing to do. In fact, only crazy people would do it. No matter how good you are, sooner or later, you will meet something more terrifying than any human can handle and die. If this was real life, why would all those adventurers go into the ruins over and over again?”

The blind girl tilted her head and opened her mouth, but then closed it again.

Sunny smiled.

“But then it hit me! They were not doing it to vanquish evil. They were doing it to collect a wide variety of powerful Memories. You see, the real dream is not to be the hero, one of their companions, or even the love interest. The real dream is to be the owner of the shop where the hero sells his trophies and buys new equipment! That way you can live a pretty life without risking your neck. That’s the real goal.”

He crossed his arms and added:

“After a few short years of adventuring around the Dream Realm and collecting Memories, you can retire, open a shop, and leave comfortably for the rest of your life. All you need is to sell a Memory once every couple of years. Maybe make some money off the younger, less fortunate adventurers, too.”

Kai laughed and looked at Sunny with curiosity.

“So… say that we somehow manage to return to the real world and become true Awakened. Is this what you’re going to do?”

Sunny thought about it for a few moments and shrugged.

“I don’t know. I don’t really have a lot to do in the real world, apart from compiling all the things I’ve learned about the Forgotten Shore into a report and giving it to a teacher who was kind to me back at the Academy. So… maybe? I don’t have enough Memories yet to open a real store, though.”

He glanced at the charming archer and smiled.

“What about you? What is the thing you really want to do if you return to the real world?”

Kai suddenly turned away with a look of embarrassment on his face.

“Oh… I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

But after several seconds, he suddenly said in a shy voice:

“…Avatar Singer.”

Sunny blinked.

“A what?”

The archer hesitated for a while, and then explained:

“Avatar Singer is a music competition show. Popular singers compete with each other, but the twist is that they are all using the stock VR avatars to perform. So the judges can only evaluate their voices and skill. They only learn the singer’s identity after.”

Effie giggled.

“Why would you want to hide your pretty face, Night? It’s your best feature!”

Kai was silent for a few moments, and then smiled gently.

“I just… I just think that it would be nice, to be judged based on my skill and talent alone, with nothing else getting in the way. Also, that would be such a great way to announce my return to the fans! Just imagine… they would be so excited! That would be a perfect media storm.”

Sunny shook his head. It seemed that Kai was really a celebrity. Talking about things like fan reactions and media storms with a straight face… did he even hear himself?

But it was a nice dream, at least. Better than his own stupid desires, by far.

Turning to Effie, he asked:

“What about you? What would you do in the real world?”

The huntress grinned.

“I don’t even have to think about it. I would go eat chicken wings… the real ones. And then start preparing myself for the Second Nightmare. Pretty simple.”

Everybody grew silent. After a while, Cassie said:

“Are you sure that you want to challenge another Nightmare?”

Effie shrugged.

“I have my reasons. So yes. For me, that is the only choice.”

The blind girl was quiet for a bit, and then said:

“I would go and spend time with my mom and dad. That’s the thing I want to do most in the real world.”

Caster glanced at her and courtly nodded.

“I agree with Cassie. Family is the most important. When I come back, I will greet my father and look him in the eyes with pride, knowing that I did not let our clan down. Then, I will try to do everything in my power to grow as fast as possible, to relieve him of his worries and propel our bloodline to new heights.”

‘How very… Legacy-like of him.’

Finally turning to Nephis, Sunny looked at her with a subtly dark expression and asked:

“How about you, Neph? What are you going to do when you return to the real world?”

Changing Star was silent for a while, looking into the distance with a calm expression.

Then, she sighed and answered in a quiet voice:

“I would go visit my mom, too.”

Everyone grew silent. Sunny blinked, a little confused.

“Wait. Your mom? I thought she was dead.”

Nephis lingered for a bit, and then turned her face away.

“She is. Technically.”